NHL notebook: Referees do tough job well, Bettman says

Sunday

Mar 30, 2008 at 12:01 AMMar 30, 2008 at 1:18 PM

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman visits most of the league's 30 franchises each season. On Friday, Bettman visited Columbus to lunch with the Blue Jackets' corporate partners, meet with the media, answer questions for select season ticket-holders and watch the first two periods of the Blue Jackets-Nashville Predators game before returning to New York.

Of all these events, the sit-down with the Blue Jackets' most loyal fans was the most compelling.

What do the people who have paid major dollars since the 2000-01 season want to know from the most powerful figure in the sport?

They fired away, asking a wide scope of questions. Here's a sampling, paraphrased in some cases because of space restrictions.

Question: This is the worst season of officiating I've ever seen. It seems like (certain) teams and players get all the calls. What can be done to improve it?

Answer: First of all, I'm sorry you feel that way. I am, seriously. We watch every game, every call and every non-call. We're in constant contact with them, after every game, monitoring the job they've done. Statistically, I don't believe you're correct, that teams or players are being favored. Is it perfect? No. There's a human element involved. Our guys are really good. Not perfect, but really good.

Q. What can the league do about the growing number of hits from behind?

A. We do penalize hits from behind, a lot of them. We've handed out some pretty significant penalties in the form of suspensions for hits from behind this season. I would never blame the victim of a hit like that, but you have to consider that players do, on occasion, turn their backs after the check has already been committed. And slow motion replay does not give you always a fair account of how the play materialized.

Q. Why not let the two linesmen call penalties along with the two referees?

A. It's a different skill set, calling the lines and calling the penalties. When we went to two referees (from one) a couple years back, a couple of our linesmen made the switch to referee, and they couldn't do it. The calls on the line are more black and white; the call of the penalties is, I don't want to say subjective, but you have to use more judgment.

Q. To increase scoring, why not make the goals two inches wider and taller, or try four-on-four play?

A. This summer we're going to take a good, hard look at goaltender equipment. They are bigger than they've ever been, both physically and in their equipment. The key to equipment shouldn't be to keep the puck out of the net, but to keep goaltenders from getting hurt. So that's part of the answer. Most hockey purists think that going to larger nets is too radical, and I think we can accomplish the goal without changing the size of the goal. As for permanent four-on-four play, you would have a decidedly less physical game. Part of what makes our game so great is the physicality, and you would get less of that with more room on the ice.

Q. Doesn't the NHL need to increase its TV exposure, say, by getting back on ESPN?

A. When we came back (after missing the 2004-05 season), we felt it was important to go to a place that would give us special, priority treatment. Coming out of the lockout, ESPN was not prepared to love us the way I thought we deserved to be loved. I'm not sure being on ESPN at this point would give us what we need in terms of presence and promotion.

Q. To avoid so many 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. starts, is there any chance the Blue Jackets can move to the Eastern Conference?

A. If the Blue Jackets are going to move to the East, you tell me who's going to move to the West. Detroit has been living with this for 25 years. Right now, there are no volunteers to move West. Having said that, if we have a relocation -- which I don't like -- or if we expanded by adding some teams in the West, then it's something we'd consider.

Q. Any chance games will be played on Christmas Day?

A. It's a good day to have games on TV. Everybody's home that day. By 3 p.m., everybody is on everybody else's nerves. However, that's in the collective bargaining agreement that we not play on Christmas, and it's something the NHL players' association has not been willing to discuss for many years now. Lately, (new NHLPA director) Paul Kelly has made it known that he is willing to consider it, so we'll see.

Q. What's the selection process for the All-Star Game and what are the chances of getting one in Columbus?

A. I'll never promise anything I can't deliver. The best I can do is say that there's no reason Columbus shouldn't apply for an All-Star Game and there's no reason it wouldn't be considered. As we learned when we brought the entry draft here, there's no reason we couldn't bring another NHL event to this city. I will be surprised and disappointed if there's not an application by Columbus when we open up the bidding.

Q. Any chance the NHL would hold a "Winter Classic" outdoor game in Ohio Stadium?

A. Never say never. We hear talk of playing in Pennsylvania, Chicago, New York, Yankee Stadium … so join the list, right? Nothing has been decided yet. Nothing. I know that we will eventually be the victim of weather that won't allow us to play the game. I know that. Will it be rainy and 61 degrees on Jan. 1 that year in Columbus? We don't know. Would it be neat to have 100,000 plus to watch a hockey game? Absolutely.

Leafs could turn to Burke

NHL sources say Anaheim general manager Brian Burke is the likely choice to take over as GM of the Maple Leafs this summer. Burke has a long history of success, turning Vancouver into a contender and Anaheim into a Stanley Cup champion. Plus, he's bold and brash enough to stand up to the Toronto media, not to mention the Leafs board of directors, seen by many as the franchise's problem, given their meddling ways.

Denis called up

Former Blue Jackets goaltender Marc Denis was an emergency recall by the Tampa Bay Lightning last week when starter Mike Smith suffered a knee injury. Denis, sent the minors in December, was 9-15-2 with a .905 save percentage with Norfolk, a humbling fall for a former No. 1 goaltender. "I don't care if I'm the oldest guy on the team or sometimes the oldest guy on the ice," Denis said. "I will take a lot from the experience. I have no doubt I will be a better goalie and a better person because of this."

Parting shot

Former Blue Jackets center Sergei Fedorov has been rejuvenated by his trade to Washington, he said, and he took a couple of jabs at Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock.

Asked why he's grateful for the change, Fedorov said:

"Just getting the chance to play hockey the way it's supposed to be played, which is using hockey sense, not robotic," Fedorov told The Washington Post. "In Columbus, you had to do things that didn't require much skill. It's much, much different here. That's why it's exciting and refreshing."